I heard something awful in the parking lot.

I was taking a midnight stroll outside the grocery store. It was really calming, the city was relatively quiet at this hour. I enjoy walking in the night. It's not cold yet, the weather still has the remnants of the warmth of fall.<br><br>The parking lot was dimly lit, and I found myself taking my time. It was 12:45 am, and I knew the store would be closing soon. So I headed back inside. I found a person standing next to me, I hadn't seen them there before. It was a man, and he was a few years older than me. Maybe in his mid-40s.<br><br>"What are you doing?" he asked.<br><br>"Sorry?" I replied.<br><br>"What are you doing?" he repeated, more slowly.<br><br>"I'm just going inside to buy some groceries," I said.<br><br>"No, what are you doing?"<br><br>"I'm just going inside to buy—"<br><br>"No," he interrupted. "What are you doing?"<br><br>"Look, I don't know what you're asking. I'm just going inside to buy some stuff," I replied.<br><br>"No," he repeated again. "What *are* you doing?"<br><br>I paused for a moment, intrigued by this man's repetitive questioning.<br><br>"I don't know," I replied. "What do you mean?"<br><br>"Do you really not know? Look, what are you doing?" he asked again.<br><br>I tilted my head at him, confused. "What do you mean?"<br><br>"I'll break it down for you," he said. "What. Are. You. Doing?"<br><br>The calculation took a moment. Adding on the syllables I realized what he was asking.<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5," I said.<br><br>"What? Count higher, you have to count higher."<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10."<br><br>"That's not right. You need to keep counting."<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30."<br><br>"That's not right. You need to keep counting."<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50."<br><br>"That's not right. You need to keep counting."<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60."<br><br>"That's not right. You need to keep counting."<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70."<br><br>"That's not right. You need to keep counting."<br><br>"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80."<br><br>"That's not right. You need to keep counting."<br><br>I continued to try and count, but each time I did, the man told me I was wrong. After a while, my voice began to grow hoarse and I could feel my mouth becoming dry. I began to sweat, and feel dizzy, and my mind was starting to blank as each number became harder and harder to remember.<br><br>He would tell me I was wrong, and make me start again. And again. And again. And I had to keep counting.<br><br>Each time my counting went higher and higher, and no matter what I did, I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop counting. And each number made me feel more and more overwhelmed, more and more tired, and my brain began to hurt from all the counting.<br><br>And I couldn't stop counting. Each time, I had to count higher and higher. 100. 150. 200. 300. 400. 500. 1,000. 5,000.<br><br>But no matter what I did, I couldn't stop counting.<br><br>I tried to leave, but I couldn't. I was paralyzed with the constant having to count. Each number made my head hurt, and made me feel more and more overwhelmed. I couldn't stop.<br><br>And with each number, my voice became more and more hoarse. I could feel my dry mouth crying out for water, my throat screaming in agony from all the counting.<br><br>As I continued to count, everything around me was fading away. My world became nothing but numbers. And the man next to me, his presence was fading, and his words became nothing but mumbling.<br><br>I lost myself, my whole world was nothing but the never-ending stream of numbers. 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 50,000.<br><br>And with each number, my brain became more and more numb. I couldn't stop counting. And with each number, my body became more and more tired.<br><br>I couldn't stop counting. With each number, my world became nothing but darkness, and the numbers became the only light in this vast expanse of emptiness.<br><br>And I couldn't stop counting.<br><br>1,000,000, 5,000,000, 10,000,000, 50,000,000, 100,000,000, 500,000,000, 1,000,000,000, 5,000,000,000, 10,000,000,000, 20,000,000,000, 30,000,000,000, 50,000,000,000, 100,000,000,000, 500,000,000,000, 750,000,000,000, 1,000,000,000,000, 1,500,000,000,000, 2,000,000,000,000, 3,000,000,000,000, 5,000,000,000,000, 7,500,000,000,000, 10,000,000,000,000, 15,000,000,000,000, 20,000,000,000,000, 30,000,000,000,000, 50,000,000,000,000, 100,000,000,000,000, 500,000,000,000,000, 1,000,000,000,000,000, 1,500,000,000,000,000, 2,000,000,000,000,000, 3,000,000,000,000,000, 5,000,000,000,000,000, 10,000,000,000,000,000, 50,000,000,000,000,000, 100,000,000,000,000,000, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000, 1,500,000,000,000,000,000, 10,000,000,000,000,000,000, 15,000,000,000,000,000,000, 50,000,000,000,000,000,000, 75,000,000,000,000,000,000, 100,000,000,000,000,000,000, 150,000,000,000,000,000,000, 500,000,000,000,000,000,000, 750,000,000,000,000,000,000, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 1,500,000,000,000,000,000,000, 2,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 15,000